


cut me a break

by homework78



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21964624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homework78/pseuds/homework78
Summary: Yu struggles with the academic pressures of university. Yosuke cheers him up with some holiday joy.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Narukami Yu, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Comments: 12
Kudos: 62
Collections: Souyo Secret Santa Gift Exchange 2019





	cut me a break

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Skye_Maxwell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skye_Maxwell/gifts).



> For Skye_Maxwell! A little late in the day but I hope you like it. Enjoy the holidays!

Yu having nightmares was a regular facet ever since Yosuke moved in with him. Yosuke thought that he would be the one with the constant stream of bad dreams but the longer Yu stayed in the pre-med program the more dreams about choking and darkness crept in. When finals rolled around in December they became a nightly occurrence -- one that left Yu panicking, clawing at the sheets, and on the night after his final exam, tumbling out of the bed.

Yosuke had thought that once the last test was over then Yu would finally relax. Then he woke up at three in the morning to a yell and a crash and Yu flat on his face on the floor after rolling off the mattress. It only took a moment to figure out what happened.

Yosuke gathered his partner up off the ground. Yu shivered, sweat making his clothes stick to his skin. When his legs stopped shaking and they could finally support his weight, Yosuke took Yu’s hand and lead him out to the living room. Yu’s hand was sweaty and his eyes had a glassy look from the nightmare. Yosuke installed him onto the sofa and began making tea. 

As the water boiled Yosuke ran through it all in his mind. He was almost certain this was all the result of stress from Yu’s finals. If it was, then this would be easier to deal with…and hopefully not the beginning of something more serious.

He brought a steaming mug over to his partner and set it down on the table in front of them. He sat himself down, put his chin in his hands, and waited. 

These things: they took time. 

(At least they were in the city and not Inaba! The lights were bright and festive outside their building, there were cars and horns and the sounds of people living their lives. If they were in Inaba there would be nothing but the cold, howling wind to comfort them at night.)

The minute hand on the clock’s face progressed several minutes before Yu finally mumbled: “I can’t be a doctor.”

“What?” Yosuke asked. “But--”

“I can’t be a doctor. I can’t. It’s too hard.” Yu stared at the tea cup. “I’m dropping out as soon as our grades are in.”

“Yu.” Yosuke took the tea cup and tried to hand it to him. His partner’s hands refused to cooperate. “Yu, come on. You’re just stressed out by all those tests. You don’t mean that.”

“Yes I do. Yes I do!” Yu finally reacted. He took the tea cup and put it back. “I can’t do it, I can’t handle it, I’m dropping the entire course load! I’m sick of this, it’s not worth it.”

“At least wait until Spring,” Yosuke said. “What if you change your mind?”

“I won’t,” Yu said. His face was thunderous. “There’s no point, I’m failing half of the course requirements anyway, so--” 

Yosuke knew for a fact that wasn’t true but there was no talking to Yu when he was like this. Instead he laid his hands on Yu’s shoulders. “Partner, come ‘ere.” 

“I don’t--”

“Come here. Come here, it’s okay.” Yosuke tugged insistently and pulled Yu down until his head was in Yosuke’s lap. 

Yosuke hated winter. Everything was dark and frozen. The frigid air cut like a knife straight into his lungs, necessitating a choking scarf around his neck. It was an awkward reminder that he wasn’t a teenager anymore. He couldn’t brave the elements with gritted teeth. 

But with Yu it wasn’t so bad. They shared body heat and bright lights. Yu gave him badly knitted scarves to wear, because Yu was a jack of all trades but mastered none. 

Christmas was coming. Yosuke had some ideas about what they could do.

“You can’t keep thinking about it like this,” he said. “The tests are done. You’re done, and you can’t go back and re-do them. So we’re not gonna worry about them anymore. Okay? We’re doing something completely different tomorrow.” 

Yu was a sleek silver thing in Yosuke’s lap, vibrating with tension. Yosuke touched him behind his ears and traced the gentle curve. It took a few minutes but Yu slowly relaxed under the pressure.

“I love you,” Yosuke said. “No matter what, okay?”

They didn’t have sex when they went to bed. They stripped each other down and Yosuke held Yu, head tucked under Yosuke’s chin. Yu’s hands dug deep into Yosuke’s back, sweaty and tense. They finally fell asleep to the sound of car horns and moving traffic. 

The air was even colder the next day. Getting up was difficult when the bed was so warm and had Yu in it. Yosuke had a morning shift to work at Junes and was forced to leave Yu asleep in bed, blankets crowded high around him.

Yosuke fought through the strong wind. Yu needed to be distracted by something -- anything. Give him a new problem to work on and he’d relax. Hopefully.

Yu didn’t text him a ‘good morning’ until it was nearly noon. Either he had spent it asleep or fretting again. Yosuke hoped for the former and typed out an invite to the local shopping center. He didn’t want to deal with a Junes anymore then he had to but there was still plenty to do around the city. Yu gave him an affirmative back almost straight away. Yosuke couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.

Yu looked harried when Yosuke found him in the food court after work. His hair was messy and he looked...unpressed and wrinkled. Normally he was so meticulous about his clothes. 

“Partnerrrr!” Yosuke waved and Yu’s head snapped upwards. He actually stood and crossed the distance with long strides until they were within arms reach. Then he stopped, hesitating. 

Yosuke just laughed and grabbed his hand. “Missed me, huh?”

“Of course I did,” Yu replied. He squeezed Yosuke’s hand. 

The original plan had been to shop for presents for Nanako and Teddie, but Yu’s left eye began twitching violently when Yosuke mentioned it, and so they just looked at all the winter decorations instead. There was the big tree and the dangling lights and garland, but as the day wore on and gave way into evening, Yu located a lit menorah in a glass display. 

He put his head close to Yosuke’s to avoid bothering the other shoppers. In a quiet voice he recounted a truncated version of the original story -- the Maccabees, the revolt, storming Jerusalem, and a miracle of eight nights of light. It wasn’t the first time Yosuke had heard it but Yu liked telling it. 

“So they’re still celebrating, huh?” Yosuke asked. 

“I guess so.” Yu smiled for the first time that night. 

It was on their way to the other end of the mall that Yosuke noticed the skating rink at the center. There were plenty of people on the ice. He paused. “Partner?”

“Yosuke?” Yu followed Yosuke’s gaze to the skating rink. His eyes widened a little and then he looked curious. “Do you want to go out on that?” 

“Well...I just realized I haven’t gone ice skating since I was a kid. Not sure if I remember how.” Yosuke grinned. “It’s just one of those things you do when you live in the city, everyone goes out at least once. Didn’t your parents ever…” Then he stopped when he saw Yu’s face. 

Right. Of course they didn’t. 

“Uhh-- hey, you know what? Let’s go skate!”

“Y-Yosuke--” 

But now he was determined. He took a firm hold of Yu’s hand and they went to the nice lady at the stand and rented skates. 

“It’s like lacing up regular shoes,” Yosuke said. “No worries, see?”

Yu sat on his hands and stared at his pair like he thought they would leap for his throat. He looked intimidated. “But I never--”

“Put ‘em on for starters!”

Yosuke knew Yu could be stubborn but he hadn’t imagined spending the next fifteen minutes coaxing and cajoling his partner to put on a pair of shoes. It would be comical if it wasn’t so mind boggling. Yu had fought gods, apprehended a murderer, and survived his pre-med finals by the skin of his teeth but going out onto the ice walking on a pair of knives was a bridge too far. 

“You’re laughing at me,” Yu accused him as he clung to the side of the rink. Yosuke’s face was turning purple from the effort of holding in his amusement. 

“I’m not laughing at you,” Yosuke lied, wheezing faintly. “Just, come on Yu, don’t just stand there, you’re not balancing right.”

“You can’t balance on a knife’s edge! That’s the whole reason it’s a knife’s edge!” 

“That’s not how they’re made! Just give me your hand!” 

Yu did not want to let go of the wall. He made a pitiful face and a high pitched screech as Yosuke finally peeled his fingers one by one off the barrier. Now that he was deprived of his crutch Yu threw his arms around Yosuke’s neck. 

Yosuke decided not to complain. He just skated backwards, slowly leading Yu in wide ovals as they dodged other skaters. Funny; he’d been worried about not remembering how to do this but as soon as his feet hit the ice it felt natural. Knees bent, shoulders back, don’t let your ankles roll, and you’re golden. 

“You’re psyching yourself out,” Yosuke said. They completed another revolution. “It’s easier than you think. You can let go.”

“I’m good.”

“Are you su--”

“ _I’m good, Yosuke_.”

Yosuke laughed. 

Despite Yu’s best efforts he did learn how to propel himself forward. Yosuke showed him how to put on the brakes. Yu never did let go of Yosuke completely but the endless stream of ‘why are you doing this to me’ was worth hearing. It meant Yu was thinking of something else besides dropping out of pre-med. 

It was actually kind of romantic, Yosuke thought. There was Christmas music playing -- the slow, jazzy kind, while Yu clung to him in an awkward shuffling duet. 

“See? It’s not so bad.”

“It’s dangerous,” Yu muttered. 

“You’re just saying that because you’re bad at it. I’m kind of surprised you’re not catching on, aren’t you a genius or something?”

“Don’t rub it in.”

“Never would I ever,” Yosuke promised and then twirled Yu like a top just to hear him scream. 

It was quite possible Yu would never forgive him but watching him flop like a seal as they came off the ice was the funniest thing Yosuke had seen all week. He could take a lifetime of resentment just for the memories alone. Yu was ruffled and it was adorable. Yosuke kept cracking up randomly as they finally left for home and their left-overs in the refrigerator. 

“It’s not that funny,” Yu said, but there was no rancor behind it. “I’ve never skated before, give me a break…”

“Partner, you can cling to me any time we go out on the rink. It’s adorable, don’t ever stop.”

Yu shook his head. But he didn’t protest either. 

When they got home Yosuke kept a close eye on him. Yu didn’t show any impending signs of sliding back into anger and worry. Instead he just buzzed around the kitchen like he usually did, plating up dinner and futzing with plastic wrap.

Yosuke considered playing dumb about it but it wasn’t in his nature. When they were sitting down and ready to dig in he finally asked, “How do you...feel?”

Yu looked back at him with furrowed eyebrows. “With regards to what?”

“You were upset last night. I just...I don’t want you carrying that with you if we can help it.” 

Yu dragged his chopsticks through a puddle of sauce. “I still want to drop out. ...but I’ll wait for our grades to come in like you said.” He crumpled up a napkin and threw it at Yosuke. “So there. You win.”

Yosuke beamed. “I’ll take it.”

“You little--”

“I’ve never had a boyfriend in pre-med before! Give me a break!” 

Yu did give him something though it wasn’t a break. And maybe that was all Yosuke could ask for.


End file.
